Megatech Megapro Rct Truck 1:18 with Battery and Charger

Comment: For those that don't know, Megatech took the Team Associated RC18T and cloned it to create the Megapro RCT. Without any major improvements it suffers the same issues that Team Associated RC18T has, but Megatech has nowhere near the customer service that Team Associated does, nor does it offer the wide range of replacement and upgrade parts. Upgrading the buggy with Associated parts will void the warranty. So when it breaks, and it will, you will be stuck purchasing overpriced parts from Megatech, or running the gauntlet with their warranty services team, an experience somewhere between a train wreck and... something worse. (See Better Business Borough.)

What to expect- Out of the box these babies will go 25+ MPH, but you will have to wait 10 hours first for the battery to charge. That charge will last 10 minutes, tops. If you run into walls at 25MPH, things break, so outdoors is where you will want to go. BUT, the electronics are exposed, and are sensitive to moisture. Also, the back of the pan collects dirt, right where the open spur gear is. The dirt will grind and strip the spur gear, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

The included radio is OK but not great. It takes 8 AA batteries, rechargeable batteries are not an option as they run at a slightly lower voltage (1.2v) and will cause the transmitter to malfunction. In contrast, 2.4 Ghz radios are packaged in most of the new kits by Associated and Traxxas, have virtually unlimited range, and can handle rechargeable batteries.

Brushless motors are the new industry standard, with little or no maintenance, twice the runtime and twice the speed, it's hard to see why not. If you plan on running Brushless, THIS CAR IS NOT FOR YOU. Although Megatech sells a brushless kit for this truck, the plastic gears, dogbones and diffs can not handle that kind of power. It will chew up your drivetrain, and Megatech doesn't sell any upgrades. If you choose to void your warranty and buy third party product, by the time you install MIP outdrives, CVDs and TheToyz steel gears, you are looking at $120 just to upgrade the drivetrain! Add that to what you paid for the truck, plus the cost of the Brushless kit, and you might as will buy a new RC18T2, which is designed to handle brushless, or Traxxas, or a Vendetta.. You get my drift.

A LOT of guys bought these as alternatives to Team Associated RC18, but with the new RC18T2 RTR that comes with 2.4 Ghz radio, is brushless ready, has a better name, and with it a better resale value, these RCs are obsolete, and incidentally, overpriced.

Comment: This same car sells for $49.99 on the Megatech website. It is a lot of fun but don't overpay for it like I did.

Comment: The first car I got did not work. There was something wrong with the transmission between the vehicle and the remote control. But thanks to the quick response from Amazon I had a new set up in about a week. The new one works great, and I have had a ton of fun. The battery doesn't last too long, probably because the thing goes so fast and it's fun to just let it do cookies in one spot. I bought an extra 1400n battery and it lasts longer. Update 2-23-10, The second one stopped working. Transmission between transmitter and vehicle I believe. I want another one, but Amazon won't let me have one. Go figure. I guess they are saving me from myself.

Comment: Way better choice than a Toy's R Us or Radio Shack piece of junk. This is built solid and is a blast to play with (and I'm a grown adult!). My 6 year old is probably a year or two too young for this right now but he has fun with it nevertheless - probably a great gift for an eight to twelve year old

Comment: The Megatech Megapro RCT is well built and extremely quick. My only complaint centers around the battery. The battery life is short ... maybe 5 minutes of hard running, and changing the battery takes almost the same amount of time. To replace the battery requires removing 4 cotter pins (2 of which are in a cramped and relatively hard to get to area) to remove the truck body. Then you have to remove 2 pins to remove the battery hold down bar. The battery is in two sections, joined by a 2-inch cable. When replacing the battery, you have to be careful to route the connecting cable to make sure it doesn't interfere with the drive shaft. I'm planning to modify the truck to make the battery changes less onerous ... something I wish that Megatech would have done for me.